2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Illinois
8
Ranked Colleges
292
Degrees Awarded
$97,547
Avg Salary
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 50,306 people earned their degree in physical sciences, making the major the 19th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $39,880 and had an average of $22,620 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 1,688 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,248 and $22,291 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 292 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $81,698 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in physical sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular physical sciences programs in the United States.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois doctor’s degree physical sciences students.
Top 8 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 94 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at UIUC
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 67 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UChicago Physical Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 59 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Northwestern Physical Sciences Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 40 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UIC Physical Sciences Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #5 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology
Loyola University Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified doctorate’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Loyola Chicago Physical Sciences Report
With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.
Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Physical Sciences Report
Northern Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physical Sciences Major in Illinois for a Doctorate ranking. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.
Full Northern Illinois University Physical Sciences Report
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.